According to Indus Water treaty, India got the full rights for utilization of waters of the three Eastern Rivers Ravi, Beas and Satluj.
Shahpurkandi Dam is planned to be built across the River Satluj.
Implementation of the Shahpurkandi Dam project would minimise wastage of water to Pakistan.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Indus Waters Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 for sharing of Indus waters.
According to the Treaty, India got the full rights for utilization of waters of the three Eastern Rivers namely Ravi, Beas and Satluj.
Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved implementation of Shahpurkandi Dam Project, Punjab on river Ravi.
Implementation of this project would help minimising some of the water of the River Ravi which at present is going waste through the MadhopurHeadworks downstream to Pakistan.
2) The term “Ideate for India” is sometimes seen in the news recently. It is a/an
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
Recently, India has launched a National Challenge for Youths, “Ideate for India - Creative Solutions using Technology”, at New Delhi.
The aim of this National Challenge is to give school students across the country a platform and opportunity to become solution creators for the problems they see around them and their communities.
The Challenge has been designed and launched by the National e-Governance Division, Ministry of Electronics & IT in collaboration with Intel India, with support from the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Human Resource Development.
3) Consider the following statements with respect to Pangolins in India
It is an herbivore eating only plants.
Out of the 8 pangolin species, Indian Pangolins and Chinese Pangolins are found in India.
Indian Pangolins are listed under endangered whereas Chinese pangolins were listed under the critically endangered category of IUCN red list.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
Pangolin is a harmless nocturnal animal with no teeth.
It is about the size of a civet cat and lives mainly on ants and termites.
All the eight pangolin species, four each in Africa and Asia, are threatened.
Of the two species found in India, the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is endangered and is found sporadically throughout the Himalayan foothills, the northern plains and southern India.
The Chinese pangolin (Manispentadactyla) is critically endangered and is found mostly in the northeastern states of India and parts of Southeast Asia.
Recently, Malaysia has torched nearly three tonnes of seized scales of endangered pangolins worth $9m in a bid to deter illegal wildlife trafficking from Africa.
4) “Seabed 2030” is sometimes seen in the news recently. It is a/an/the
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
The U.N.-backed project, called Seabed 2030, is urging countries and companies to pool data to create a map of the entire ocean floor by 2030. The map will be freely available to all.
The project, launched in 2017 is a collaboration between the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO, a non-profit association of experts, which is already involved in charting the ocean floor.
5) Consider the following statements with respect to Exercise Hand-in-Hand
It is a bilateral military exercise between India and China held annually.
The joint exercise for the year 2018 will be conducted at Chengdu, China.
The exercise was skipped for the year 2017 due to the Doklam standoff.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The annual bilateral exercise Hand-in-Hand between India and China will be held from Dec 11-23 at Chengdu in China.
The last time the two armies had the joint exercise was in 2016, in Pune, but due to tensions between the two sides over Doklam due to standoff between the armies for more than 70 days, the armies skipped the `Hand-in-Hand’ exercise in 2017.
The Doklam sector is a strategically important area which is claimed by Bhutan.
6) The Siberian city “Yakutsk” is sometimes seen in the news recently for which of the following reasons?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
In Russia's Siberian city of Yakutsk, one of the coldest on Earth, climate change is causing dangerous melting of the frozen ground, or permafrost, on which the buildings stand.
With a population of about 300,000, Yakutsk is the world's largest city built on permafrost, and it could be especially in danger from the melting.
Average temperatures in Yakutsk have risen by 2.5 degrees Celsius over the past decade.
The permafrost, a layer of soil cemented together with water that is only stable as long as it stays frozen.
Rising summer temperatures can destroy the solid permafrost. As the ice melts, the clay or sand simply sinks together with whatever is on top of it -- a road, a building, and a lake.
Permafrost covers almost the whole of “Yakutia” – a northeast Siberian region bordering the Arctic Ocean.
7) Consider the following statements
It was introduced by the saint-scholar and a social and religious reformer Sankaradeva.
It is one among the eight classical dances of India.
It was introduced as a powerful medium for propagation of the Vaishnava faith.
Identify the classical dance that matches with the above description?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The Sattriya dance form was introduced in the 15th century A.D by the great Vaishnava saint and reformer of Assam, Mahapurusha Sankaradeva as a powerful medium for propagation of the Vaishnava faith.
8) Consider the following statements
Union territories are governed under the administrative control of the President of India.
Since, Puducherry is a Union territory with an assembly; the Lieutenant Governor cannot nominate members for the assembly without consulting the ruling party.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Recently, the Supreme Court has upheld the induction of three BJP members as MLAs in the Assembly of the Union Territory of Puducherry by the Centre unilaterally without consulting the elected local Congress government.
The Court further noticed that Union Territories are not States and observed, “These Union Territories, ordinarily, belong to the Union (i.e. the Central Government) and therefore they are called ‘Union Territories’. That is why they are governed under the administrative control of the President of India.
Since Puducherry is a Union Territory, it is a “property” of the Union government and there is no need to consult the local government on nominations.
9) Consider the following statements with respect to Global Nutrition Report 2018
India is home to the highest number of stunted and wasted children in the world.
Districts in North-eastern India have the highest number of stunted children.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
India is home to the highest number of stunted (low height for age) and wasted (low weight for height) children in the world, according to the Global Nutrition Report 2018 released recently.
Districts in central and Northern India have the highest number of stunted children.
10) Consider the following pairs
Stunting – Low height for age
Wasting – Low weight for height
Overweight – More body fat than is healthy
Which of the pairs(s) given above is/are correctly matched?
